


It’s All Downhill From Here

by orphan_account



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: And combined with Charles and George's Euro Truck streams, Basically they are truck drivers, Charle's has a problem with his semi, George is there to help, I am so sorry, I don't know how to tag this, I watched an episode of Ice Road Truckers, THIS was the end result, trucking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23730379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Hey George, I’ve got a problem.” Charles said into his CB radio, struggling to keep his voice and hands steady as he also tried his best to concentrate on the snowy road ahead.Charles. George. Ice Road Truckers. That's all you need to know.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	It’s All Downhill From Here

**Author's Note:**

> i'm not even going to try and explain myself. i wrote this at 1 am last night (this morning?) and honestly i regret nothing. i only have limited knowledge of semi's as my brother is a part time truck driver, so things may or may not be accurate but i don't think anyone is really gonna care about trucking facts while reading this.
> 
> it's slightly shit, but i hope this give you at least some kind of entertainment, cause boy was it fun to write.

Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong and Charles had no idea what to do about it.

**“** Hey George, I’ve got a problem. **”** Charles said into his CB radio, struggling to keep his voice and hands steady as he tried his best to concentrate on the snowy road ahead.

**“** What’s going on? **”** He heard a crackling British voice respond, belonging to the driver who was only a few hundred feet ahead of him, the lights of his tractor trainer barely visible ahead in the snow storm that the two were braving together.

One the icy tundra roads it was always smart to travel with a buddy, especially when the weather turned for the worst. While the other truckers decided they'd try and wait out the storm, the two rookies had made the decision to team up and try to make their way through the treacherous weather on their own. Neither were really a rookie anymore, but being the youngest out of everyone meant that they were still viewed as such. But even with the a few years of experience of trucking under his belt, Charles had never encountered a problem like this before.

**“** My brakes are gone. I’ve- I’ve got nothing from the pedal. **”** Charles responded, and as if to demonstrate it to George _(even though the man obviously couldn't see)_ he pressed down on the pedal, feeling no resistance from the pedal or from his truck as he continued to travel at a now uncomfortable 60 mph.

**“** You still got your jake brake, right? **”** George responded back, his voice now sounding on edge. Charles wasn’t sure he could take the chance to try and see if he did. If he were to use his jake brake now, going as fast as he was, there was a high possibility of him losing that as well.

**"** I-I do not know. I need to slow down George, but up ahead... **”** Charles quieted as he suddenly felt a sickness settle in his stomach, realizing his situation was going from bad to worse. Up ahead laid a steep 2 mile long decline as the two drivers were just coming out of the mountains and back onto the flat tundra terrain.

**“** Yup, yup, I know. **”** George responded with a pause. The crackling coming through the CB signaled that he still had more he wanted to say. **“** I have a plan. Just listen to me and I’ll talk you through, yeah? **”** With a 10-4 from Charles, he concentrated on the red trailer lights ahead, waiting for George's instructions. The red flickering among the white out conditions was the only current source of comfort for Charles as he waited to hear back from George.

**“** You need to slowly start reducing your speed. Shift down through the gears, but don’t go too quickly. **”** He knew he’d lose control if he went to fast, end up in a ditch turned over, and that was not something Charles needed right now so he did as he was told. At a snail's pace Charles let off the gas, feathering it every so lightly as he watched his odometer slowly reduce in speed. It wasn’t happening as quickly as Charles would have hoped, but he didn’t dare move any faster for fear of his tires suddenly losing grip on the snow covered road.

Noticing the red lights slowly beginning to disappear from view sent Charles's heart racing as immediately his mind concluded that George was leaving him behind. But of course that was not the logical part of Charles's brain speaking. George needed to get as far ahead as possible to ensure that Charles’s runaway semi would not be slamming into the back of his trailer and sending the both them careening off.

**“** Once you hit 40 you can start using the jake lightly, but once your going down you need to be careful or… **”** George didn’t need to say what was to come next, Charles was already very aware of what would happen. Jackknifing, spinning, take your pick. Instead of responding, Charles kept his hand off his radio, his attention bouncing between the blizzard conditions outside, the tracks in the road ahead and down the readings on his dash. 56, 52, 46 mph _._ Charles was just about down to 40, but the road was running out ahead before it began to slope downwards. A cold sweat settled in as Charles forced himself to turn his attention back to George’s voice.

**“** Charles, you still there? What are you at? **”** The Brit asked in an even tone, obviously trying to his best to stay calm. And he was succeeding at it far better that Charles was.

**“** 43, just dropped down to 42. **”** Charles responded hastily once more shoving in the clutch and dropping down yet another gear, his rpm’s whining as they once more spiked before beginning to quiet down again.

**“** Okay, that’s great. You’re doing great, Charles. **”** George’s words soothed the Monegasque's panic but only by some. Seconds seemed to pass like minutes as Charles waited and willed his odometer to read 40 mph.

**“** It’s 40 George. **”** He responded, his speech rushed and he reached for his jake brake, though he didn’t get much further as George’s voice broke through the CB once again.

**“** Go to setting one and use it lightly. Too much could send you spinning. You’ve got this, I’ll see you at the bottom of the hill. **”** And George was silent once more, this time permanently. Charles would have loved to have the Brit continue to coach him through what to do, but right now the both of them needed to concentrate on the task at hand. While Charles would be working on willing his 9 and a half ton beast to go as slowly as possible down the hill, George would be willing his to go as fast as possible without sending him and his cargo off the road. The two were playing a dangerous game, they were testing their luck, and Charles was hoping luck was on their side so that they would indeed be seeing each other at the bottom of the hill in one piece.

Charles was now crawling at a speed of 27 mph just as his semi peaked over the top of the hill. With a deep breath, Charles slowly began going through a routine of pulling the jake, checking his speed and checking the road in front of him for any signs of George. As the rig picked up speed, Charles was forced to use his jake less and less but it seemed he had found a balance at around 38 mph. Soon the motions and actions became a rhythm and the task slowly seemed less dangerous, though still just as tedious. It was exhausting for Charles to monitor his actions so closely and he hadn’t even realized how much tension he was holding in his neck until the road once more evened out before him and the lights of George’s semi came back into view.

**“** Excuse my french, but _holy fuck_ , we did it. **”** Charles said with a relieved laugh, his hands shaking with adrenaline as he spoke into the CB. A light chuckle responded back immediately and it seemed that George was on the same page as Charles.

**“** Definitely took a few years off my life. **”** George responded, still laughing. **“** I told you you could do it. **”** With a smirk, Charles flashed his lights at the truck ahead, a small gesture to say _'thank you'_. He got a response of a few flashes of George’s brake lights as a _'you're welcome'_ and Charles laughed a the slight irony.

**“** Just a few more miles and we’ll get at the mine. Then we can find a mechanic to take a look at your truck. Nice and easy from here on out. **”** George replied and sure enough the rest of the drive was peaceful. The two were still going much slower than they would had originally planned and Charlie’s was still balancing his speed with his shifting and jake brake, but within 30 minutes the two were pulling up to their destination, parking there trucks side by side to be off loaded. Just as Charles pulled his parking break, he bounded out of his hot red semi and rushed over to George, hugging the other man just as he had jump out of his own rig, thanking him for all he had done to help.

**“** I just told you what you need to do. You're the one who made it happen. **”** With a shared smile and a pat on the back, the two walked inside the headed building to collect their bountiful payment as well as to find out where the closest mechanic was located.


End file.
